The Peregrination
by Sir Heroden
Summary: Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge race against time to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood in an attempt to unite Romans and Greeks. But the life of a demigod is never easy. Powerful Monsters, Gods and Titans are determined to stop them... no matter what.
1. Introduction

**The Peregrination **

Peregrination, /pɛrɪgrɪˈneɪʃən/_noun : _a journey, especially a long or meandering one.

**Summary:**

Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge race against time to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood in an attempt to unite Romans and Greeks. But the life of a demigod is never easy. Monsters, Gods and Titans are determined to stop them at any cost.

Follow the journey of our heroes as they travel half way across the world, discover friendships and battle to survive.

**Warning:** Rated T for safety (contains mild violence).

**Update Rate:** Will try to update at least once every 1-2 weeks. Apologies to those who like to read stories all in one go.

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Rick R or Greek Mythology, the storyline belongs to me.

**AN:** Thanks and enjoy! ~H


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Reyna stared into the campfire. There had always been something about flames that captivated her. Maybe it was the way they moved; maybe it was the way they burned. She didn't really know.

Fire was one of the only things that she was unsure of. On one hand, the discovery of fire was probably the best thing that ever happened to mankind, on the other hand death by fire was probably the worse fate one could have.

Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why was there nothing in this world that one could just simply admire, instead to exploiting or fearing?

The Fates must really hate demigods to make their lives so depressing. She could imagine those old ladies popping over a bag of popcorn, sitting back and enjoying the show of torturing demigods.

She sighed.

There was 100% chance that Nico wasn't coming back.

Firstly, it had been _hours _since he left.

Secondly… he was probably busy killing Frank and everyone else on the Argo II for losing his sister.

She silently cursed that Frank for breaking such bad news to them just when everything had been going so well. Not to mention that it both surprised and disappointed her that Nico would take the news so badly.

It wasn't like him to lose his temper.

As members of the New Rome council, her as a Praetor and Nico as the Ambassador of Pluto, they had endured numerous meetings and known each other for a lengthy period of time.

That of course, didn't mean they were anything close to friends, but they certainly respected each other and admire the other's skills in 'discussing' (fighting about) the many matters in council.

To Reyna's embarrassment, the long and boring debates of the senate were sometimes too much and she would release her pent up energy by shouting at those who made stupid suggestions and banging on the table once in a while. Nico on the other hand, always kept calm, forever having an emotionless face despite the outrageous proposals that would appear.

The praetor knew of the highly flammable tempers of the Big Three and had experienced it first hand from Jason, which meant that Nico had amazing self-control. The young man had an aura of seriousness and power that made even the most boisterous of senators snap their jaws close in fear and listen.

She remembered how Octavian had claimed Nico was a spy at first and wanted him killed, and how all said demigod had done was raise a delicate eyebrow and ask who the augur thought he could possibly be spying for and then point out sarcastically that Pluto would not be pleased if the son he sent to be his ambassador was killed on suspicion the first day he got there.

In fact, if he had been the son of a more…accepted god, then Reyna would have considered making him a full-fledged senator, instead of just having an honorary position on the council.

The legionnaires all thought being a leader meant privilege and respect, but in truth, being a leader was hard work. Always the first to start and the last to finish, the person blamed if anything bad happened, the person losing sleep pondering over what harm their decisions could bring down upon loved ones.

Not to mention that everyone came to you with their stupid problems. Reyna had always secretly thought Nico was certainly calm and patient enough to be a leader.

At least… until today.

The Praetor thought the first round of shadow travel had gone well enough, after she got used to the fact that the said form of travel made her feel as if she face was falling off and she was suffocating in dark, cold water.

In 2 jumps they had made it to some abandoned wood in France, keeping with Nico's idea of getting as close to the ocean as possible to make the huge jump across. They were about 600 miles from their starting position and it was only a bit later than midday.

Pleased with their progress and slightly concerned by the fact that Nico nearly passed out the moment they got there. Reyna had insisted that they rest in the woods for the night or at least for a few hours so that Son of Hades could recharge his powers.

But the life of a demigod was never so straight forwards.

AN: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to favourite and comment if you like the story! It means a lot to know that your work is appreciated. Constructive feedback is always accepted. ~H


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Here is the next chapter, enjoy this memory recall from Reyna!**

**Chapter 2**

_Coach Hedge backhanded Nico across the face and Reyna couldn't help but grimace at his brutal methods of waking someone up._

_The club wielding 'demigod- protector' was definitely a breed apart from his brethren back in Camp Jupiter. Those fawns/satyrs_ _were nothing but a pathetic bunch of beggars and thieves as far as she was concerned. When Percy had explained to her that in the Greek camp satyrs were sent 'undercover' to find demigods and protect them until they get to camp, she was laughed and was downright sceptical- after all, it sounded like something from a badly made spy movie. _

_But did she doubt the Son of Poseidon's claims now? Probably not. _

_Said protector was busy mumbling to himself and struggling to unlatch the buckles of Nico's vambrace. Probably to check his pulse, she thought._

_After some struggle and some swearing, he pulled off the offending piece of armour and threw it into some bushes. _

_Reyna sighed; the son of Hades would mad if pieces of his armour went missing. So, being the responsible Praetor, she had to crawl around in the bushes for a few minutes, getting random twigs in her hair and a few splinters as well. So much for being a high ranking Roman officer. _

_Finally, she found the discarded armour and dropped it next to their packs on the ground where it could be found when needed._

_It was already midday, according to her watch, but wherever they were was amazingly cold. The only light came from the weak, watery sun hiding behind a veil of fog. _

_A very annoying veil of fog that only gave her a few minutes distance of vision, she added mentally. The white mist presses against her, choking her and tauntingly obstructing her sight. These situations could be very dangerous, with possible enemies leaping out of the fog with no earlier notice. She wished Nico would wake up soon and transport them somewhere else, anywhere but this blasted fog._

_Her breathe clouded the air as she kept guard a few metres away from her companions. Heat from her body combated the coldness and droplets of water slid down her armour. _

_Her finely tuned senses warned her of danger before she even realised what it was. _

_There was something different about the woods that wasn't a few minutes ago._

What was it?_ Her mind asked. _

_Silence._

_That was it- silence._

_There had been no sound (save her own breathing) for several minutes now._

_The praetor shuffled back to where her other two companions were. They had to be ready to fight if needed._

"_What's going on? Is he awake yet?"_

_Hedge was sitting back with a shocked expression on his face. He took a deep breath as if he planned on not taking one for some time, he turned to her. _

"_I think he's dead." Hedge shook his head sadly._

"_WHAT?"_

_The Praetor knelt down hurriedly, not bothering to adjust her sword and regretting it as the weapon's hilt jabbed her into the flesh between her ribs and hips. _

_She pressed two fingers to his wrist and finding no movement, moved to his neck. The flesh was still warm against her fingers. _

_One second…no pulse….two seconds…no pulse… three seconds….still no pulse…four- There!_

_There had been a movement against her fingers, she was sure of it!_

_Reyna cursed the weather and coldness that was causing her hand to shake, "Go and get me a water bottle."_

"_You want a drink at a-"_

"_WATER BOTTLE- NOW!"_

_The satyr scrambled off to do as she commanded and returned with a bottle full of water. _

Nico, if you're still alive- I am so sorry. If you're not…then it won't matter…_she mentally told him. _

_And then promptly poured the water over his head._

_The response was immediately. The coach gasped in horror while Nico sat up abruptly, sucked in a deep breath (plus plenty of water) and started to choke._

_Now it was Hedge's turn to shine, moving forwards, he thumped the boy hard on the back several times._

_The Son of Hades got a full minute of that 'life-saving' treatment. _

"_Stop. Stop…please…" Nico finally managed to croak feebly, "Are you trying to help me or… break my spine?"_

_Reyna couldn't stop the relieved grin that spread on her face. _

"_Did they teach you that at roman camp?" Nico asked her, "to pour water on unconscious people to wake them up?"_

_She wasn't sure if the Greek demigod was joking so she settled for a raised eyebrow, "No. We don't have any weaklings who faint from using their powers a bit."_

_Nico flushed angrily and pushed himself off the ground. _

_He pushed away Hedge who tried to assist him, "I'm fine." The coach shot her a look._

_So she had insulted the boy's pride or something? Greeks- so pathetic. She couldn't resist pointing that out. _

"_We romans are strong. Even your _little_ sister doesn't pass out from using her powers, just last year we had her erect a golden temple and she was fine after." Reyna paused for effect, "she's so much worthy than you."_

"_I am not roman." He spat out. "Don't judge me by your standards."_

_There was a burning anger reflected in his eyes. She had meant to insult him, but he looked unnecessarily mad. His hand moved down to rest on his weapon and both Nico and Reyna had their swords half drawn when they paused at the sudden light that appeared a few metres away._

_They may have their disagreements, but killing possible monsters always came first._

_However, instead of charging monsters, an image of Frank's upper body appeared in a rainbow of colours. _

"_Iris Message," Nico slammed his weapon back into its scabbard and refused to look at her._

"_Nico?" The Son of Mars looked frantic. _

"_Frank." He stated evenly, "Is everything ok?"_

"_I am so sorry, so sorry- please…"_

"_What? Why?" Nico farrowed his eyebrows in confusion. _

_Frank, on the other hand, looked as if he was about to cry. "Hazel… she's been captured. We were attacked by… flying lion things and they took Hazel away!" _

_Nico's hand left gripped his sword hilt so hard that his knuckles looked as they could pop out any second. _

_Frank continued as if he had lost control of his mouth, "also, we're stuck here on some island, the ship is damaged, but since Leo got knocked unconscious, we have to-"_

"_Say it again." The Son of Hades hissed._

"_Umm… we're stuck here on some island and-"_

"_Di-immortals!" Nico swore, "All seven of you together couldn't fight off a few manticores?" He looked mad enough to travel back to the ship and murder them all. _

_Franks stuttered a reply and Nico was no longer listening, he murmured something to himself in what Reyna assumed was Italian and turned away from the Iris message. His hands clenched and unclenched by his side._

"_Dammit, Frank!" Nico stepped closer to the image again, and Frank stepped back hurriedly._

"_You promised me." He gritted his teeth, "You promised that you would protect her!"_

_It suddenly stuck Reyna that it was very cold. The breeze had morphed in a strong wind- a roaring thing that blew leaves and twigs into their faces. _

_Strange voices whispered in the air, the ground began to tremble slightly. A few metres in front, with his back to her, Nico took several sharp breaths, he looked as if he was about to lose it. _

_The Praetor didn't want to find out what would happen if he lost control over those freaky death powers. Coach hurried forwards and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, the satyr stood on tiptoes and murmured something into his ear, hopefully a few words of encouragement, Reyna thought. _

_Nico shrugged the Coach off and swept a shaking hand through the Iris- message. He walked away, the shadows and mist embraced him and hid him from her view._

_As Hedge called desperately for the son of Hades to come back, Reyna could help but feel guilty at her relief for the reappearance of the weak sunlight._

**Did you enjoy that? More excitement coming up next week! Please fav and comment if you liked it! Constructive feedback is always welcome!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Reply to reviews!**

**Panderlover9914: Thanks for your continued support! I will be updating weekly! Hopefully there will be occasion for some action in later chapters!**

**Annabethfan15: Thanks for the nice review! (had to use google translate..hehehe) It's great to know that there are some international readers out there! **

**To all those who favourite or looked and thought this was a good story: THANK YOU! (Although a fav/review would be much appreciated!)**

**Chapter 4**

While Coach continued his search for the runaway son of Hades, Reyna used her time effectively by chopping twigs from some nearby bushes to use as firewood for that night. The pathetic little pieces of woods looked more like kindling then burning material, but she was wary about going too far in that blasted fog.

As the Praetor steadily stripped all the surrounding vegetation, the sunlight slowly dimmed, and to her relief the fog faded too. But it was already too dark to see their surroundings clearly, and all her keen eyes could make out was that they appeared to be in a clearing surrounded by thick trees. The Athena Parthenos lay against one of the bigger trees and seemed to be fairly stable for the time being. She nodded her head in satisfaction- no one could possibly steal it when it was right under…no…over their noses.

She fed several more bits of wood to the fire before fumbling with freezing fingers to detangle their tent from the stack of discarded packs.

Luckily, Leo had created a special lightweight and self-assembling tent just for the three companions. It was big enough for two people and all their gear to fit comfortably inside, with waterproof and heat conserving material as covers. The best thing about the device was that it was self-assembling, as soon as one loosen the rope binding it, it would expand gradually until it was fully built. In other words- it was a masterpiece.

_If only we had these at camp_. Reyna made a mental note to hire Leo as she untied the binding and watched as the tent sprung up. One of the corners became stuck and she gave it a kick to help it unfold. _I think Coach Hedge is rubbing off on me_, she thought with a shudder.

Finally, her impromptu to-do-list exhausted, Reyna returned to the fire and waited.

The flames danced upon the naked blade resting by her leg, placed close to hand if needed. Her didn't even have to set her senses were on high alert- years of practise made it second nature. Meanwhile, the more philosophical part of her mind drifted.

_Snap._

Someone had carelessly stepped on a branch. Reyna picked up her sword, spun around in the expert motion and stopped just short of slicing Coach Hedge in half.

"Hey! Watch it!"

Reyna mumbled an apology, and quickly moved her sword away from the satyr's frowning face, "Where's Nico?"

Hedge sighed, "Couldn't find him, I can't see nothing in there," he jerked a thumb towards the dark clump of trees no more than ten metres away, "it's so dark that a man wouldn't see a Minotaur until it was breathing down his neck."

That remark did not to ease the panic that she felt, as if realising that he may have accidently worsen the solution, Coach dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, "Don't you worry, cupcake. He's survived worse- anyone would if they lived in the Underworld most of the time!"

Reyna reeled in shock. Nico and his father must have a close relationship for the god to nominate him as ambassador, but a 'close' relationship for demigods meant seeing each other once a year.

_Nico lives in the Underworld? _Her mind took some time to process the amazing information.

On one hand, she felt jealous that the son of Hades had such strong relationship with his godly parent, but on the other, she pitied him- the Underworld was no healthy place for a moral, even if one was half god.

Reyna snapped back to the present and mentally berated herself for letting her thoughts carry her away. Beside her, sitting on the ground, Hedge was fumbling in his pack. Finally he dragged out a whole pile of tin cans and popped one his mouth, chewing it slowly as if relishing in its taste.

The coach looked pointedly at her and mumbled something, and then pointed to his bulging mouth. Probably something along the lines of: _are you going to eat too?_

Reyna realised that with shock that she was indeed hungry and after digging around in her bag, found a sandwich. She dug in gratefully, letting the mouth-watering aroma of cooked turkey guide her.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence. That is, if you don't count the constant chumping of tin cans.

Finally the coach finished his dinner and gave a resounding burp. "Go get some rest, I'll take first watch."

"What about Nico?"

"He'll be back; he's not one to forget the bigger picture."

Reyna felt her curiosity rising, "you sound as if you know him well." The last few words rose in a questioning pitch.

Hedge settled back, as if he was getting ready to tell a story, "I know _of_ him. We all do, when he and his sister arrived, we were told to keep away. And of course then was the –"

"Wait! Hazel went to Camp Half-Blood?" Reyna felt her mind clog up in confusion.

The satyr looked sad, "No, I mean his first sister, and by blood. Her name was Bianca."

"Was? Is she…?" Reyna felt herself trailing off, embarrassed. She felt like a stalker. But at the same time, suddenly the pieces that depicted Nico's life started to make a bit more sense.

The normally reserved warrior felt her heart go out to Nico. _His sister died_, her mind repeated, _and now Hazel was in danger as well_. She remembered that unexplainable loyalty and unbreakable bond that she shared with Hylla. If her sister died, and they didn't even get to say goodbye… she'd…no, Hylla was fine. Of course she was.

The Praetor fought to keep the sudden surge of remorse and fear that clutched around her heart.

The coach went on, staring into the fire, "Nico took it badly, he blamed Percy and nearly destroyed himself physically and emotionally to extract revenge."

"What happened then?"

"He changed his mind." Hedge held her gaze, suddenly looking a lot wiser. "Percy must have persuaded him to, because a year later he led his father's armies against Kronos."

Reyna felt her jaw drop. "He _what_?"

Hedge grinned at her shocked expression suddenly, "that enough tales for you tonight, but the moral of the story is that Nico will be back. Don't you worry."

The demigod protector stood and hefted his club. "Go and get some rest, I'll wake you up in a few hours' time."

When _someone_ poked her awake that night, _someone_ was nearly skewered.

Even before she was awake, Reyna had drawn her sword and took an instinctive swipe at the direction from where the poke had come.

She opened her eyes, jus registering the hovering face of Coach Hedge.

"Coach?"

"Yeah, you gonna try chop me again?"

Reyna scrambled up, her face flushed red. "No! I'm sorry, are you ok?"

Hedge grunted in reply, "No harm done, don't worry, cupcake." He showed her the half-chopped branch in his hand. "I've got practise waking up demigods."

The Praetor couldn't help but be impressed. "Is it my watch now?"

The satyr nodded in reply and watched her put on armour with practised ease. She left the shin guards and vambraces off however, as the tiny buckles were too hard to see in the dim light.

She worded her thanks as Hedge handed her the imperial gold sword that was her preferred weapon.

"Have a good night then."

"Have a good watch," Hedge placed his club on the ground. Reyna turned to leave.

"Cupcake?"

"Yes…"

"Just letting you know- Nico's back." The coach rolled into his sleeping bag without another word.

She found Nico leaning against the truck of a large tree, staring numbly at emptiness.

Reyna wasn't sure what to say. She had always left the comforting to…other people. Being a leader demanded one to lose their grip on generosity and listen to one's mind more than one's heart; there was no time to leave one's post to give your shoulder for someone to cry on.

Still, she was willing to try.

"Nico?"

Red-rimmed eyes snapped to meet hers.

She smiled unsurely, "Welcome back… I suppose…"

Nico broken their eye contact, "I'm sorry for running off like that. It wouldn't happen again." His voice was monotone, as if he was giving a report.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"Err… Are you going to be alright?"

"I don't know…" the demigod closed his eyes and sank back against the tree, "I just don't know anymore."

Reyna could feel the tension in the air increasing. It seemed colder.

This was out of her sphere of comfort. Her mind told her to just drop the matter and walk away, _it wouldn't matter anyways- you're not even friends with him,_ it reasoned. But her heart was a whole other matter- _Look at him, he's just a young boy- help him…_ its traitorous voice whispered.

The ground was so cold she almost jumped up as soon as her sat down. _Damn my kindness. _Nico opened his eyes at her sudden presence and made no remark.

"Coach Hedge told me about your sister," she left the sentence hanging, but it became obvious that he wasn't going to pick it up. "I'm sorry." She added lamely.

Silence.

The wind picked up, voices whispered in her ear. _Death… Pain... Revenge... Death…_

Nico reached clenched his hand around the pommel of the black sword laid next to him. The voices stopped abruptly. His breathe clouded in the air as he exhaled shakily.

Finally he sighed, "I heard you guys talking."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"What? How?"

"I was standing in the shadows nearby," the son of Hades told her, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Reyna stood. There were few rare people that could creep her out. Nico was one of them. She did not enjoy sitting in the dark with a demigod with explosive powers, at the dead of night and talking about their dead sister.

"Reyna?"

She paused in her path back to the campfire. "Yes?"

The young man seemed to mentally debate with himself for a bit, but then he spoke his mind "this morning was one of the closest I've ever come to losing control of my powers." He suddenly looked tired, "If I had, everything within a few hundred feet would have had their soul ripped out."

Fear clutched desperately at her heart. Only years of experience forced her to keep her face blank.

Her mouth stretched into a tight lipped grin, "well, I'm glad you didn't."

"I am too. Hopefully the two of us can try not provoking each other again; you have no idea how hard my powers are to control."

Reyna looked into her companion's eyes and realised that he sincerely wasn't joking, or trying to taunting her.

She nodded her head, "Go to bed, I'll keep watch until the morning."

Nico stood slowly, "no, I'll take this watch," he nodded at her, "can't sleep anyways."

Reyna considered his offer, for once the thought of a warm sleeping bag won over duty. "Alright then."

As she wormed gratefully back into the warm covers, she smiled once again.

A genuine one this time.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please fav…review…follow if you liked! Some action coming up in the next chapter with the appearance of some monsters. Thanks! ~H**


	5. Chapter 4

_**AN-**_** First of all an apology. I found that there was formatting error which resulted to my chapters not having breaks. My bad, this mistake will be fixed ASAP!**

**Aside from that, thanks to all those who faved, reviewed and just read through this week's chapter! Please keep it up! Reviews are the lifeblood of writers!**

**Dorkzilla: Thanks for your review! Here is the new chapter, hope you enjoy!**

**Civilcollins: Thanks for your review too! I've always wondered too, hence this story. On what happens, well… wait, and I'm sure you'll find out! :)**

**A big thank you to all those who read this story! Please fav and review if you liked it! **

_**Without further ado…**_

**Chapter 4**

Reyna was distressed to find that she was the last one awake that morning.

She cursed herself in failing her duties as protector.There was no doubt that Nico and the Coach could take care of themselves, but they were still under _her_ protection and any harm that befell them under her watch would be unacceptable.

Therefore, she vowed to sleep lighter in the future.

_Not that there would be much chance,_ she told herself- today was the day that they were going to make the jump across the Atlantic.

Before departure she and Nico had planned their journey beforehand. The son of Hades insisted that they get as close as possible to New York and so Portugal was the best choice.

Either they succeeded or they didn't. In both cases, the quest ended today.

Outside, there was a clatter of cutlery and then Hedge's loud voice berating Nico for clumsiness. The young man's hissed something back in defence. She perked up her ears to see if any fights were going to occur.

Luckily, the incoherent murmur of conversation soon started up again.

Reyna felt herself sigh in relief, as a praetor there was nothing more important to her than ensuring the safety of her people. She would give her life in the blink of an eye to fulfil that purpose, but most importantly- she hoped her two companions understood that.

Wasting time now could result in the death of hundreds of demigods and innocents.

She quickly re-braided her hair, knowing that dangling hair could obstruct the view of approaching monsters and looked messy too. The praetor hoisted on her armour, groaning slightly as the heavy metal pressed down on her aching muscles.

The _sooner_ they got to camp, the better.

o0o

The daughter of Bellona was greeting by the sight of her two fellow travellers conversing over a weak, flickering fire.

The fog was back, but not as dense as yesterday. The statue of Athena still leaned against the huge tree and she thought the unfortunately vegetation was not as straight as it was yesterday.

Hedge jumped guiltily when she gilded up behind him and bid the two good morning.

"Ah! Are you trying to get me killed, girl?" Hedge spluttered out, "yesterday she nearly chops me in half twice and now she spooks me so much that I spill boiling coffee all over myself!"

Nico looked uninterested, "meh."

"What's in Hades is 'meh' supposed to mean?" Hedge demanded, desperately trying to wipe liquid off his pants.

The son of Hades frowned, "Don't use my father's name in vain!"

Reyna thought now it was a good time to jump in before any weapons were whipped out. She dropped a hand on the young man's shoulder, and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Sorry, Coach. If I had known you were holding a cup of hot liquid, I would have been more careful in my approach." She tried her best to look apologetic.

The satyr glared suspiciously at the two demigods, gaze moving back and forth between them.

"Humph!" he stood and hefted his club.

Reyna felt a sudden ripple of muscle as Nico's shoulder tensed. Her own hand instinctively moved to reach for a weapon.

But the coach only propped the baseball bat over his shoulder, "the first time I'll see my friends at camp in several months, and I looked like I peed my pants." He huffed, "excuse me while I go and change."

After the angry goat left, the Praetor decided to take Hedge's seat and sat facing her companion.

To her surprise it was Nico who broke the awkward silence. "You want some coffee?"

He poured a cup of the hot drink and gave it to her.

Reyna drank, feeling her taste buds hum in pleasure as the rich, warm liquid flowed through her throat. "It's pretty good. Did you make it?"

"Nah, Coach did," the son of Hades took another sip from his own cup, "are you ready to make the jump today?"

"Definitely, the question is- are _you_?"

Nico raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "Of course I am."

o0o

When Hedge emerged ten minutes later with new pants, the two demigods had already finished packing the bags.

Nico watched as his fellow demigod gave the tent a deft kick to disassemble it and sank back into his own thoughts.

He wondered what would happen when they got the camp. Could the three of them really persuade the Romans and Greeks, natural enemies for thousands of years, to stop fighting and unite? It's seemed too good be true that the _three_ of them could bridge the rift between two civilisations in no more than a week. He shook his head and turned to the matter concerning him the most.

Their quest had been too simple. No monster attacks. No kidnappings. Nothing dangerous at all.

There was no such thing as a free quest in a demigod's life. He suspected that something bad was about to happen very soon.

Behind him, Reyna and Hedge began a shouting match over who was to carry the heavier bag, and Nico drowned the useless argument.

He flexed his powers, feeling the satisfying faint hum that came when nearby shadows responded to his control.

_More,_ he whispered_. More_.

A familiar burning sensation built up in his chest. But as long as he kept a tight rein on his powers, everything should be fine.

It seemed that Reyna and Hedge had finally sorted out their argument. The Praetor looked smug as Coach heaved the heavier pack on. Nico joined them beside the Athena Parthenos.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Reyna held out her hands for the Hedge and Nico to take.

The satyr checked one last time that his club was in place, while Nico draped the ropes of the gigantic statue over his shoulders.

The companions held hands.

_Concentrate._ Nico pulled more power from a nearly unlimited reserve. The pain in his chest increased unbearably and constricted his breathing. _Focus._

Dimly, he heard a female's voice wishing him good luck, perhaps it was Reyna, or perhaps it was his own imagination.

Sounds and colours blurred together as spots danced in and out of his vision. Nico estimated that enough power had been built to transport them across the Atlantic Ocean now. Any more would be dangerous.

The familiar, cold sensation of travelling through shadows overtook him. He sighed in relief. The shadows were familiar and comforting.

He winced as his fingers were crushed in Reyna's iron grip. _Mental note to remind her about that later. _

_Camp-Half Blood, New York_, he told the mindless shapes that surrounded them. A reassuring wave of coldness soothed him. The shadows sped them towards their destination, feeding on his powers.

He struggled to pull up more power as the shadows quickly devoured the amount he had collected before the travelling began.

It hurt. A lot.

Gathering more power to feed the shadows while shadow travelling was definitely pushing boundaries. His father had warned him about the possible consequences of this action before- if the shadows got a directly link to his reserve of demigod power, they would suck him dry. Literally.

So Nico had to focus on drawing up power little by little to avoid the shadows noticing. It was pure agony. The burning sensation twisted around in his entire body. He wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

A scream was torn from his throat. Reyna tensed her grip even more.

His body was burning up. Not burning as in having a fever, but _on fire_. He had just found the limit to his powers.

Fire brought… Pain was… Torture reminded him of… _Tartarus._

A topic he'd tried to avoid since the beginning of this quest. He _never _wanted to remember the torture they had conducted on him again.

He had endured that for what seemed like years because time run differently in Tartarus.

Panic overwhelmed him. It was too hot. So hot that he couldn't even draw in a breath.

_Cold_, his mind screamed. _I need coldness right now!_

Abruptly they slammed into snowy ground. Nico felt his body slump and become unresponsive to his brain's furious commands to get up.

In the distant, he heard someone screaming something incomprehensible.

o0o

They had appeared once again on solid ground.

The dizzying sensation eased, but the coldness didn't. It took Reyna a few seconds to realise that it was because they were in the middle some kind of open ground, covered with snow.

This couldn't be Camp-Half Blood.

Nevertheless, in her role as protector of the three the praetor was the first to look around, so she was the first to see a bright ball of light arcing towards them.

"Get down!"

She tackled Coach Hedge to the ground and realised that she had left Nico in the path of danger.

But she needn't have worried.

The son of Hades had collapsed on to the ground the moment they arrived. Reyna thought it probably saved his life.

The fireball sailed over their heads for another few dozen metres and hissed as it landed in the snow and was snuffed out.

Her fighting instincts kicked in immediately; there were definite advantages to being a daughter of Bellona. It took her no more than a few seconds to see the hydra and was roaring it's fury at them about a hundred metres away.

She discarded her pack and untied her imperial gold spear.

Beside her, Coach got up from the snow and screamed a battle cry, and charge towards the monster before Reyna could stop him.

"Come and get it, monster!" He yelled. The Hydra rose to the challenge, surprising the satyr briefly at the distance it managed to cover so quickly. The goat-man leapt on to its back and started to whack one of its two heads with his club.

The creature roared in fury. It's other head turned and trying to unsuccessfully blow fire at its attacker. Reyna decided it was a good time to join the battle.

With an imperial gold sword in her right hand and a spear in the other; she was the very picture of a fearless Roman in battle.

She swiped at the Hydra and followed with a thrust of her spear. But the monster was wicked fast and managed to dodge both attacks.

The monster swiped at her with its claws, and she managed to deflect it aside with her sword.

They were locked in combat with several minutes, neither giving way. Soon Reyna realised that having two weapons in this kind of battle only restricted movement. She wasn't fighting with another demigod who could potential use her discarded weapon against her. No, she was trying to kill a monster- a mindless beast that just wanted the taste of demigod flesh, and nothing more.

She contemplated on which weapon to discard. Her sword was definitely lighter and easier to use, but the spear had more reach and was sturdier. The warrior tossed the former away and prepared to find an opening in the Hydra's defences.

Above Hedge was still clinging to the Hydra's head, but no longer hitting it. He had lost his club and was desperately holding on.

The monster roared in anger and continued to shake its head, stomping it's feet to increase the turbulence. Finally the Coach flew off, struck the trunk of a huge tree and was too stunned to get up.

Reyna felt the rush of battle and angry race through her blood and fought to control it. Adrenaline made people stronger, but more prone to mistakes, and ultimately an untimely death.

Strength and intelligence was the way to win battles. Not strength and more strength.

The hydra spat out another fireball and she had to leap out of the way to avoid getting hit. The back of her armour was scraped by the projectile, and Reyna had to roll in the snow twice to cold the metal down.

At the base of the tree, Hedge stirred and tried to stand up, "I'll give you a bashing! Are you scared? Com'n cupcake!"

The monsters turned its attention to source of the yelling.

_That satyr just didn't know when to shut up. _The praetor used this time to glance at Nico. He seemed to be still unconscious. _Definitely no help there then,_ she thought. The Hydra snaked towards Hedge, who was still glaring defiantly at it.

She sighed, wondering if the following, desperate action was going to get her killed.

"Here!" she waved her arms and jumped up and down to attract the monster's attention, "come here, you big worm! Come and get me!"

The beast considered this new invitation. It figured that the fat goat-man probably didn't taste as good as the demigod, so it lumbered after the latter.

Reyna took off, running about thirty metres away from her two companions, hopefully giving Hedge time to recover enough to fight if she was killed.

Lessons back at Camp Jupiter had taught her that while a Hydra's back and sides were protected by almost impenetrable skin, the skin under its neck was more delicate.

The Hydra approached slowly, smart enough to know that there was no need to rush and that its prey could not possibly outrun it.

As it approached Reyna knelt on the ground and placed the butt of her spear in the snow and left the sharp, glinting tip pointed above. It reminded her of boar hunting.

The monster paused and glared suspiciously at her, before deciding that its prey had given up. It screamed its triumph to the sky in screams that resonated in her head.

The Hydra reared back and prepared to bear down with all its might to take the first delicious bite.

Suddenly, Reyna realised something horrifyingly wrong with her plan.

There was nothing to brace the spear against!

The snow was deeper than she thought, and while she could walk on it fine, having a larger area, the spear's end sank deeper and deeper into the snow. She almost screamed in frustration. She had survived wars, assassins, Titans and not she was going to die out here because she made a stupid plan.

But it was too late to move now, so Reyna held the spear as sturdy as she could and glanced up bravely at the huge, red jaws that were about to descend upon her.

o0o

**AN:**** I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have fun with the cliff-hanger! Please favourite/follow/comment if you liked it! Much appreciated! All feedback is welcome! **

**Will update the next chapter this Sunday! ~H**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN****: Hello everyone!****I have put on a new cover for the story, what do you guys think? Once again, my thanks to all those who are reading this story! Especially to those who have reviewed! (You know who you are!) Starting from tomorrow I will personally send out PMs thanking you all for your support!**

**Now, let's fix this cliff hanger!**

**.**

**Chapter 5**

As a demigod, Reyna had known that one day her luck was going to run out.

Perhaps it was because of the blood of Bellona flowing through her veins, but she had always imagined that her death would come in some glorious battle, while defending the honour of Rome.

It was probably the dream of every true warrior.

As the Hydra threw its head back and roar out its victory, she felt nothing but hate.

Hate for the monster that would take away her dreams. Hate for her stupid plan that got her into the situation.

It was nothing amazingly philosophical about it, no- just the last thoughts of a warrior who was denied the chance to go down fighting.

Sharp teeth and a blood red maw would be her last view of the world.

They had failed. The two camps would never be united. Gaea would rise.

Fear kept her mind frozen, but her hands shaking constantly. _Such unfairness._

Suddenly, a strange event occurred.

Her spear, which had literally been shaking a moment ago (due to her unsteady hands) suddenly stilled. It was as if another pair of hands had come to help her support it.

And just in time! The hydra smashed down on her, and the sharp tip of the spear pressed against the flesh under its neck. The normally, sturdy oak handle bent alarmingly… but didn't break, and leaned its weight into something miraculously solid in the snow.

The Praetor found herself transfixed with horror as the Hydra was impaled by the spear due to its own momentum, but she didn't dare look down to see what had kept the spear in place. It seemed all too possible that the monster would gobble her up with its remaining strength.

But no.

Heat rolled off the dying monster and singed her hair. There was a flash of light and the Hydra exploded into yellowish dust. The filthy particles swirled in the weak morning light and settled wherever they could find.

All was silent.

What was it that saved her? What was the solid object that had borne the weight of her weapon? It certainly wasn't her hands; by the way she could feel them still shaking uncontrollably.

Reyna looked down slowly and felt her breathe catch. She must have sat there for several minutes staring in amazement at her spear, which now stood freely, as if it had risen out of the ground.

A thick layer of black rocks that had seemingly crystallised on the shaft.

She kicked away the snow at the base and found more of the mineral under the snow around the base of her weapon. The rock had seemingly risen out of the ground and ran up the spear to both provide something to brace against and a hand to steady the weapon.

Realisation dawned upon her.

_Nico. _

The son of Hades had effectively saved her life with his geokinesis powers.

She found herself laughing and didn't know if it was right to be grateful that she wasn't going to join Nico's family below that day.

oOo

After making sure that Nico was still breathing, Hedge 'volunteered' to get some rest first. Reyna didn't really care- she needed some time to think anyways.

A few hours later, when evening came around, a loud yawn broken her concentration as she stroked a small fire. Reyna turned to see Hedge exiting the tent. The son of Hades was still out, so the two of them shared a light dinner and eventually the satyr relieved her watch.

It was nice and warm in the tent, and the Praetor checked that Nico was comfortable before lying down as well. Coach had removed his armour, and now the young man looked satisfied in a t-shirt under a pile of covers. His soft, misty breathing paced the silence.

The dreams she had made her regret going to sleep.

She was floating.

All around was darkness.

The feeling reminded her of shadow-travelling, only without the familiar and comforting feeling of two hands to hold on to.

A woman's voice pierced her thoughts.

"_Praetor of Rome…"_ it whispered, as it if the owner was just waking up. _"I am Gaea."_

Reyna felt herself shiver at the cold, calculating tone of the voice. It was merciless and ancient. She knew it was older than the gods… older than time… and filled with malicious intent.

She did not dare speak.

The Goddess chuckled, _"Join me, Reyna. You know your quest is hopeless. I have heard the doubt you contain in your mind. The three of you cannot possible heal the rift between two civilizations destined to be enemies. Join me and I will let your friends live."_

Reyna managed to shake her head. Floating in this shapeless, sinister void disturbed her greatly.

Gaea began to speak again, this time with a hint of hurt in her voice, _"alas child, you do not believe me. The gods have turned you against me."_

A light breeze stroked her hair. _"I am mother earth, I am the one that gave the Titans life, and they in turn the gods. Yet I was lured into a deep sleep by my descendants, left with no choice but to see my children destroy the world I love and helped create." _

A deep, regretful sigh followed.

"_I am giving you a choice. Give up this ridiculous quest, surrender to me, and I will allow you demigods to live in peace once my brethren have taken back what is rightfully ours."_

The demigod finally found her voice, "Why would you do that? Why would you allow a race so full of hatred of you live?"

"_Because..."_ the goddess paused for a moment, "_no matter how much you hate me, we are family, and we must look after each other in this cruel world."_

The Praetor hesitated.

Could there be truth in what the Goddess was saying? The gods had indeed abandoned their children. Could Gaea's rule be any worse than that?

"_I sense your thoughts. Of course I am right." _Gaea pressed, _"The gods have abandoned their children."_

"_I am giving you a choice, Praetor, because out of all your friends- you are the most intelligent."_ The goddess whispered, _"Take up my offer before it's too late."_

Reyna found it hard to speak, "What will happen if I don't?" she managed to croak out.

Twinkling laughter. She could imagine the Goddess smiling mockingly at her.

"_Well…let me show you. Shall we start with Nico?"_

oOo

_Reyna seemed to be floating in the air. _

_Below, an army of skeletons marched along an abandoned, muddy road, keeping a steady pace despite being pelted with rain. _

_Hollow eye sockets stared blankly ahead. Feet stomped in the mud. _

_A sickly smell of death and foreboding lingered around them like a thundercloud. _

_There could easily have been thousands. _

_The soldiers didn't care that they were wet and soaked to the bone. They would follow whatever their young commander told them to do. That was their purpose in life- to do their commander's bidding. _

_In this case, their commander had told them to march along this road, and so be it. _

_The soldiers marched in one big cluster that at a closer look was revealed to be a complex, ever moving formation. _

_Every few lines had a leader on horseback. These were captains dressed in uniform, which must have looked better than not covered with mud. They directed their men with rapiers, and rode on horses that were similarly devoid of any flesh. _

_Every once awhile, some creaking commands would be shouted out and the soldiers would begin to move in a certain pre-arranged pattern. _

_The Praetor of New Rome was astonished that dead soldiers could be so orderly. Their commander must be one remarkable person. _

_Suddenly havoc broke out. Skeletons crashed into each other and some even began milling around aimlessly. Captains shouted commands that were lost in the din of stomping feet and clashing weapons. _

_A bugle sounded in the distance. One sharp note pierced the confusion. Silence fell._

_Below her, the vast troop parted down the middle, and a small group of riders raced through the passage to the front lines, where some sort of incident seemed to have occurred. _

_She willed herself to follow. _

_At the front of the army, the riders stopped. An armoured man clambered down from his horse, movements made awkward by a blood soaked bandage around his thigh. His fellow riders followed suit. Nearby foot soldiers backed away to a respectful distance._

_The man, who must have been the commander, moved forwards with hurried, disgruntled movements. His dull, red cloak dragged in the mud. _

"_Why have we stopped?" he demanded._

_Reyna jerked back in surprise. The commander's voice was much younger than she's expected, and so very familiar._

_The young man removed his helmet and pushed back rain matted hair to reveal the irritated features of Nico. _

_He passed the headgear to a waiting attendant. "Well?"_

_One of the front line captains stepped forwards, "we found a body, my lord."_

_The son of Hades winced, his hand dropped to grip his wounded thigh. "So what? We see bodies all the time." He turned to leave, "resume forward march."_

_The captain didn't move, "perhaps, you should see her, my lord."_

_Nico turned back, fear alighting in his eyes. "Her? Who? Show me!"_

_Four soldiers baring a body moved within sight. Reyna noticed that the son of Hades turned pale with terror. _

_His breath hitched, "no."_

_The young man limped forwards and sank down beside the mangled body of a very familiar girl. "No."_

"_At least she's no longer in any pain, my lord." The captain offered to the shaking demigod. _

_Nico clutched the corpse to his chest and buried his face into her hair. His body shook uncontrollably. _

"_My lord, she-"_

"_No more!" Nico's voice broke, "please…don't tell me… No more. No more." The boy resorted to murmuring senseless comfort in Italian._

_For a few minutes there was only a heavy silence. _

_Then Nico collected himself and rose, his injured leg barely supporting his weight. He shrugged off offers of help from his fellow officers and hoisted him up on his horse again. Reyna saw fresh blood run down his leg due to these harsh exertions. _

"_I'll kill them," he whispered._

_There was something that Reyna couldn't place in his eyes. Something insane and wild, fuelled by hate and thoughts of revenge._

"_They lied to me," he murmured brokenly. He screamed out his grief and to the sky in an incoherent wail. _

_The soldiers remained silent. _

"_Give her the proper burial rites," Nico commanded. He drew his sword and dug his spurs cruelly into his battle horse's flanks, and the animal lumbered into a trot. "I'll kill them all," he promised with one last look at the body of the girl._

_A war horn sounded. _

_The army followed in the path of their commander._

_Only a dozen soldiers were left. They gathered up the girl's dripping body and Reyna couldn't hold back a gasp as she felt herself staring in the lifeless eyes of Hazel Levesque. _

oOo

Reyna snapped back to consciousness. Her breath came in fast, sharp gasps. All around was darkness.

She looked around and was reassured by the normalcy of her surroundings. Less than a metre away, Nico slept peacefully. His chest rose as he inhaled.

Suddenly, she felt the weight of responsible fall on her. Could it be her stubbornness and refusal to join Gaea that would indirectly cause the death of Hazel, and turn Nico into a cold-blooded killer?

She was sure Gaea had more horrible fates planned for the rest of her friends.

The image of Hazel's lifeless gaze burned into her mind. Now, here in the dark, it was still so very real.

Reyna shivered. Besides her, Nico shifted in his sleep and muttered something too soft to make out. But he didn't seem to be in any danger, and that's all that mattered.

She left Nico to his dreams and let sleep embrace her again.

oOo

Waking to the sound of Hedge and Nico having a full blown argument right outside the tent was not something desirable.

Reyna grabbed her weapon and marched outside where her companions ignored her and continued arguing.

"We have to tell her!" Coach declared.

Nico looked as he was about to murder someone, "I told you, it's going to happen anyway!"

"You know she wouldn't!" the satyr retorted, "If we tell her, we can stop it!"

"No! I know it's going to happen. I saw it!"

Reyna came to a stop beside Coach Hedge, "What are you guys shouting about?"

Nico refused to meet her gaze. Her other companion sighed.

"Nico had a disturbing dream that I think he should share with you, but he refuses."

The warrior turned to him, "Why? What did you see?"

Hedge gave the son of Hades a pointed look. "Go on!"

The young sighed, "Fine. I saw you."

Reyna was confused, "Me? What about me?" _Was something terrible about to befall her?_

Nico took a deep breath and released it in a white mist, "I saw you standing over my corpse."

The Praetor felt shock run through her, "No… it's just a dream, Nico. Gaea was probably playing with your mind." _Just like she was with mine. _

Nico gave her a look filled with disbelief, "Well, there's more."

Coach started, "More? What more could there be?"

His next words made Reyna feel as if the world had been pulled out from under her feet.

"I saw her standing over my dead body…" The son of Hades turned away, looking almost afraid to say more.

"…and she was smiling."

.

oOo

**AN:**** Well, the action is just starting! What do you guys think? Any suggestions, feedback, constructive criticism is most welcome! PLEASE REVIEW! I would love to see what you guys think and hear your suggestions. Don't forget the PM's going out tomorrow!**

**Once again, my sincere thanks to all those who are reading this story! I've love to hear from each and every one of you! See ya next week! ~H.**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: ****Hopefully some of you have been waiting for this! It may seem a bit out of place, but trust me; it will all come to a point soon. Thanks for the awesome, enthusiastic PM responses I got last week! Hope you enjoy!**

**Here is it!**

**.**

**Chapter 6**

Breakfast was eaten in silence. Even Hedge didn't have something optimistic to say for once. Nico looked as if he lacked sleep, and resorted to muttering curses under his breathe at nothing in particular.

The three of them finished stuffing themselves with tasteless food and son of Hades stood.

"I checked our supplies last night, and worked out there's enough to last us two days at most," he announced, "We also need to find out where we are. I'm going to see if I can get some supplies from people nearby."

"Don't be daft," Hedge said, "who'd be living in all this snow? An' how are you supposed to find them?"

Nico didn't meet his eyes, "I saw a column of smoke over those hills this morning, I'll head off in the general direction and see if there's anyone."

"What if there are monsters?" Reyna questioned, "You're in no condition to defend yourself."

"I'll be fine."

"I'm coming with you."

The young man started to object but then thought better of it, "Come if you want, I don't care. If I'm going to die, then it doesn't matter when."

Coach looked worried, "maybe I ought to-"

But Nico shook his head, "No, she can do what she likes."

He turned without a word and started off in the direction where he mentioned.

"Go on then, cupcake." Hedge gave the dazed Praetor a gentle shove, "and be careful."

oOo

Nico was aware of the long silence that stretched between himself and Reyna. He still found it hard to believe that Reyna would murder him, or at least be glad that about his death.

The vile images swirled around in his mind and refused to go away. The smell of blood filled the air and his breakfast threatened to emerge.

Behind him, Reyna called to him "Nico, slow down. Wait for me."

He slowed his pace, "What?"

The Praetor caught up to him finally, "Look, I just wanted to say thanks, you know- for saving my life yesterday."

It was an attempted to strike up a conversation and Nico knew it. He really didn't feel like talking today. He had a pounding headache, and he was sure one of his ribs was bruised due to a bad landing yesterday.

Plus, they were stuck in the middle of nowhere with the fate of the world on their shoulders. Not the mention that fact that one of his quest companions was going to kill him and be happy about it.

To sum it up- life sucked.

"Nico?"

He kept walking, and soon Reyna gave up trying to make conversation.

oOo

Eventually, the two clambered over a large hill to find a farmhouse no more than a few hundred metres away. It was the kind that was always showed in pictures of romanticised places high up in the mountains.

They were both panting when they arrived and the sound of cows mooing and sheep bleating gave the first sign of occupation. Other than that, the place looked rundown enough to be deserted.

"Should we knock on the door?"

Nico cocked his hear to one side, "No, someone's in the barn."

He set off with large loping steps without waiting for her reply.

The barn was an ancient place with timber roofs that creaked ominously. A cloud of dust rushed to meet the morning air when he pushed open the gate.

"Hello?" Nico called out. Something moved in the room. "Who's there?"

Suddenly a figure leapt out from behind a pile of hay wielding a shovel, with which they waved around wildly.

Nico caught the make-shift weapon as it sailed towards his head and wrestled it out of his attacker's hand. Reyna drew her sword and found herself face to face with an old woman.

"Thieves!" she spat, pelting the two demigods with spittle.

Nico looked shocked as the old woman hobbled over and jabbed him in the chest with an ancient finger, "Err… No, madam. We're lost actually. We came to ask for help and food."

"Not thieves?" she glared at them suspiciously, "You ask for my help? You buy food?"

Reyna pulled Nico aside and took charge, "That's right, madam. We're just here to buy food and ask where we are."

The old woman whipped her head around and stared at her. "Not thieves?"

"Of course not," the Praetor told her soothingly.

Abruptly, the old woman smiled, showing them a mouthful of yellow, crooked teeth. "Well, come on then."

oOo

Every piece of furniture inside was covered with a thick coat of dust. The old woman gestured to the couches.

"Sit down, dears."

When they hesitated, unwilling to have a dust shower, she _helped_ them buy scraping the grime off. A cloud of dirt enveloped them both. Nico coughed weakly, waving a hand in front of his face.

The old woman sniggered and rewarded them with another disgusting smile, "Wait, my dears." She turn into the corridor and disappeared further into the house.

Reyna turned to her choking companion, "You ok?"

"Yeah," the demigod spluttered, "I'm fine."

Soon, loud thumping footsteps sounded nearby, and the old woman returned with another man.

She gestured, "This is my husband. We have discussed the matter of selling supplies to you and agreed that we will do so at the right price."

Reyna was about to tell the old couple that they didn't have any money when Nico drew something out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

For a moment the four of them stared at it in silence, until the old man picked it up, "Well," his voice was quiet, unlike his wife's, "I'm sure we can come to an agreement with if this is what you're offering. Is this real, boy?"

"Of course it is."

The old couple swarmed over the gold bar, whispering eagerly. The old woman went as far as biting it with her teeth.

Nico smiled hesitantly at the pair of them, "we need basic supplies, food and such. There's also a question we'd like to ask you."

The old man gestured for him to go on.

"Where are we?"

The old woman shot out a hand and waved it under Nico's nose.

"Must I?" he sighed, slipped his hand inside his pocket and presented her with a gold coin.

She looked infuriated that it wasn't a whole bar of gold. "Iceland."

"Wait here," the man told them, "we'll go check the stocks to see what we can spare."

As soon as they left, an awkward silence fell in the room. Nico headed over to the other side of the room to look at a boar's head mounted on the wall, muttering to himself about maps and directions.

Reyna examined the various photos displayed above a dusty timeworn fireplace.

In one picture titled _'Happiest day of our life- 23 February 1926'_ showed a cheerful groom about to carry his bride into a log cabin. They were both smiling.

Some more photos lay about, most of them contained the same two people doing different things- fishing, eating, and riding in a shiny car. But nothing that really caught her attention.

_Was she looking for something?_ Reyna wasn't sure, but soon one made her stop in her tracks.

The picture was taken in front of the farmhouse. It was the old couple. Both were smiling warmly at the camera, the old, withered man was in a wheelchair, reaching up to hold his wife's hand in his.

She jerked back in surprise- the man they had seen was definitely capable of walking.

Furthermore the picture was titled _'60 years of love- 23 February 1986'_.

Something was definitely wrong.

The Praetor burst into the living room and Nico turned to her in surprise, "What's wrong?" His hand dropped to grip his weapon.

"I saw a photo…"

The son of Hades scoffed, "Really Reyna? I once saw a photo too!"

She ignored his sarcastic tone, "Listen, in this photo the old man was disabled- but he was walking just then."

"So what?" Nico didn't seem to be listening anymore and turned back to whatever he was looking at before, "maybe he had surgery? Or they were just acting in the photo?"

"But the photo was dated 1986 and since they were already old then, they'd be more than a hundred by now!"

"Lots of people live to one hundred these days."

"And just then they looked so...evil," she finished lamely.

Nico turned to her, looking annoyed, "Reyna, you're just being paranoid." He sighed, "Look, if two kids suddenly turned up at your house for out of the blue, wouldn't you act like that too?"

He had a point, but she wasn't going to back down that easily, "Stop making excuses for them. There's something wrong here."

"Whatever you say."

Reyna moved forwards. "What are you looking at?"

Nico didn't answer, choosing instead to continue stare transfixed at the vast display of weapons on the table in front of him. Swords, knives, bows with arrows and various other dangerous looking tools were neatly arranged like a jigsaw puzzle.

"They have quite a collection," he murmured, "and they're in such good quality too."

He was right. Each weapon had been polished and sharpened to a dangerous degree. Well kept, unlike the rest of the dusty, age worn items in the house.

"Don't you think that's strange?" Reyna queried.

"Yeah…a bit" Nico admitted, "but that doesn't make them blood-thirsty killers."

"Whatever. I'm going to check the bedrooms." She went further into the house, ignoring Nico's protests of privacy violation.

The bedrooms were in an equally poor state, nearly an inch covered the bed. It seemed as if no one had been here in years.

There were footsteps and talking in the living room now. Nico yelled. Something growled in reply. A crash followed.

She burst out of the room to halt in surprise at the sight of the old woman attempt to smash the son of Hades with a large mace. Nico dodged and the weapon sailed over his head. The crazed attacker snarled a challenge. Then she turned and spotted Reyna.

"Kill them!" she screamed.

Her husband was by the table of weapons, with an equally hungry look in his eyes. He picked up handful of small knives and flung them at Nico. The young man managed to dodge most of them and deflected on off his sword. One sank into his shoulder between a gap in his armour. The demigod ignored it.

"They're shape shifters," he yelled to her as the old man picked up a spear and hefted it.

She ducked out of the way behind a sofa and felt a whoosh as the weapon just missed her. _Too close._

That was what the monster had been intending, for when she rose again he was already coming at her with a sword. He feinted to her left side, intending for her to step back. Instead, she stepped forwards.

The monster was caught off guard and unbalanced and she took the opportunity to stick her sword through its chest.

He dispersed into yellow dust._ Easy._

On the other side of the room the female shape shifter had given up trying to smash Nico with a mace. The weapon was too heavy to keep swinging around and the young man was quite fast. She dropped the spiked metal ball and tackled the son of Hades to the ground.

They grappled for a bit, each trying the get the upper hand. Reyna hurried over, but couldn't help for fear of accidently stabbing Nico.

Finally the Nico managed to get his hands around the woman's throat and pin her to the ground. He tried to choke her, but cried out in pain and released his grip when the monster grabbed the hilt of the knife in his shoulder and twisted.

The demigod staggered away, blood running freely down his arm. His attacker chuckled gleefully and chased after him.

Reyna decided it was a good time to step in and plunged her sword into the preoccupied monster's back. It let out a wail and disappeared in yellow dust.

Nico sank into one of the dusty couches. Reyna hurried over, "Are you okay?"

He groaned and proceeded to pull out the knife, "I'll live."

Reyna unclipped a bottle of nectar from her belt, "Here."

The son of Hades poured some over his wound. He flexed the injured limb and winced. "Let's get what we need and get out of here."

Reyna didn't feel like pointing out that she was right to be suspicious, so she just nodded. "Search around and gather what we need, I saw some sacks early in the barn, I'll go get them."

oOo

When she came back, Nico had a whole collection of food ready to be packed. He had also decided to bring along a few packs of throwing knives.

"What's with the knives?"

He shrugged, "They could come in handy. There's heaps of other good weapons too, take your pick."

"I'll have a look," Reyna eventually found a bow that appealed to her. It was quite simple, used more for hunting than warfare. She wasn't much of an archer, but she _could _shoot and having a long ranged weapon may prove handy.

"I'll take this one."

Nico raised an eyebrow, "Fine. By the way, I found a few bottles of nectar and some ambrosia in one of the drawers," he showed them to her, "turns out the real old couple were demigods."

"They should have known not to veer so far from Camp," Reyna was annoyed at their foolishness.

The son of Hades continued to stuff items into the two sacks she'd brought in, "They were old, maybe they just wanted to live out the rest of their life in freedom."

Reyna wasn't convinced, "Hmm… Let's go back before Coach comes looking for us."

.

.

**AN: Please review and favourite if you liked this week's update! Some more action coming with the next update where every mystery so far will be explained :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**AN: ****Here it is! To all those of you that was curious about Nico's possible death predicted earlier on- this is for you. **

**.**

**.**

**Chapter 7**

Reyna jolted awake as a scream sounded and cut off abruptly.

Rolling out of her warm sleeping bag and grabbing her imperial gold sword had become a practised motion now and she managed it in record time. Adrenaline roared through her blood, preparing for a fight with any monsters that may be outside.

The moment she ran out of her tent she nearly tripped over some random bag lying on the ground.

_Stupid satyr must stop leaving bags everywhere_. She made a mental note to tell Hedge about the potential safety hazards of his actions later.

The warrior shuffled closer to the centre of the makeshift camp, holding her sword in a defensive position the entire time. The fire had gone out, leaving nothing behind but blackened ashes and a trail of smoke that made her cough.

A strange thought occurred to her. Surely Hedge and Nico would have heard the scream too, so why were they not out scouring the campsite?

In fact, the last watch was Nico's but he was nowhere to be seen. Even though she sometimes found herself doubting the young man's loyalty, she didn't doubt his hearing or reflexes. Something must have been keeping him away from here.

The first rays of the dim morning light filtered through the trees, and did nothing to in the way of providing warmth. Reyna's breath came out as a white mist and she found herself shivering. Where the hell was Nico? Or Hedge?

The sudden thought that they had abandoned her to die in the frozen wilderness of Iceland made her ground her teeth. _Greek scum- no good ever came from working with them._

Frustrated, she reasoned that if they left her to die then the best thing for her to do was to not die. With the thought in mind, she moved closer and decided to relight the fire.

As the Praetor started poking the remains of the fire with her sword, she saw drops of red which stuck out so clearly in the white snow that she berated herself for not noticing earlier.

The trail of what was probably blood led to the sack that she had nearly tripped near the entrance of their tent.

Except at closer inspection it was no sack- No, it was Nico lying face down in the snow.

The praetor quickly turned the young man over and was horrified to find his front sopping with blood. His fingers were loosely clenched around his sword hilt.

Something sharp, most likely a sword had punctured his armour directly into his abdomen. Reyna pressed two fingers against his neck to find it cold and silent.

His eyes, which had always been so full of anger or determination was staring emptily to the sky.

_Nico was dead._

Then the horror of the realisation struck home and for a moment she could only kneel there in shock. Here was the loss of a valuable life, the loss of someone to be missed.

And this changed everything. Nico wasn't a traitor; in fact he was a hero for using the last of his strength to warn Reyna about whatever it was that had fatally wounded him.

But the more horrifying thought was what if I could have saved him? If I had noticed him lying there earlier, could I have saved him?

Then come along the thought that his killer was still on the loose. It could be a monster, or even Hedge…

"I'm so sorry, Nico," she whispered, "So…so…sorry…"

A sudden presence behind her made her reach for her sword.

"What's wrong? Why are you apologising?"

Reyna whipped around in shock to find Nico standing behind her with a suspicious expression and with his sword drawn.

oOo

Hedge sauntered up behind the young man and looked questioningly at her, "What are you two standing around for?"

"You're dead!"

Nico looked taken back, "What?"

Reyna went to point out the dead body on the ground to find it gone. She pointed her sword at him, "I saw you! You were right there and you were dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

Hedge stepped in, "He's been with me the whole morning, and of course he's not dead!"

The son of Hades nodded in agreement, "Reyna, are you sure-"

Suddenly, there was a flash of movement and a shadow slammed into Nico and there was some tumbling and a shower of snow.

Hedge called out in alarm and Reyna couldn't help but raise a hand to protect her eyes from the spray.

When the mist and snow cleared, two Nico's faced each other. They were identical, from their clothing to their expression. Both seemed just as surprised to see another copy of themselves.

"What in the name of Zeus are you?" one demanded.

"You're a shape shifter!" the other declared.

The former edged closer to where she stood, "Reyna, I'll take him from the left; you attack from the right, ok?"

"No!" The latter called out, "Don't believe him! I'm Nico!"

They two Nico's circled each other, knowing that they'd have to settle this by themselves. Reyna couldn't help but fear that the real Nico would be no match for the monster in his still weak state.

Without warning, the two moved forwards to clash their swords together and begin the deadly dance of battle.

The one on the left feinted to the right, but had to dodge as the other performed a forwards swipe.

They moved in a deadly rhythm where one misstep or one moment of carelessness could mean death.

The two black swords clashed, spat sparks and screeched as their owners pressed to get an advantage.

Finally one of them swiped his sword at the other's non-sword side, forcing his opponent to block, and attempted a quick slide downwards to disarm. However, his opponent was as smart as he was fast, instead of incepting, stepped backwards so that the attacker found himself hitting air and unbalanced.

In that second of unbalance, the was-defender swung his weapon in a smooth, deadly cut aimed to decapitate. The battle was not so easily won though, the disadvantaged was-attacker recovered just in time to block the blade a few centimetres from his neck.

As one tried to press home his advantage and the other desperately fought for survival, Reyna and Hedge could only watch helplessly, not knowing who to help.

"Reyna! Kill him!" defender Nico shouted, "Quickly! While I've got him locked!"

The other gritted his teeth, "Stand back, I've got this!"

Slowly the attacker began to give ground, the swords moved slighting back, but then a new surge of strength took over and the weapons pushed down again.

Reyna was impressed at Nico's strength; defending against or attacking a monster with a few thousand more years of experience was quite hard.

The defending Nico was forced to his knees as the other's blade pressed closer to his neck. His arm trembled with the effort of keeping his own weapon up.

"Reyna, help me- please!"

She hesitated, _what if that was the real Nico? _

But then underlying her concern was the question of, _what if it wasn't?_ Still, perhaps it was better use some other method other than fighting to work out the truth?

As she started to move forwards, something moved in her peripheral vision and she instinctively dodged. Something whizzed past, very close to her head.

The Nico still kneeling on the ground cried out.

Reyna was horrified to see that a sharp arrow like object had penetrated into his right forearm. The monster, which stood triumphantly over him, had sprouted a harpoon like tail.

Now, the weapon was roughly withdraw, the curled back point was pulled out, tearing through flesh and armour. The son of Hades screamed in pain and clutched his arm, desperately trying to steady stream of blood that appeared.

His injured arm was too weak to hold up his sword and so he dropped it, and waited for a deadly blade's fall, swaying and too dazed with pain to do anything.

Reyna's sword stopped the shape shifter's in the middle of a powerful downwards swing as Hedge tackled the monster from behind.

Now was the time to act, but with Hedge still struggling, she could hit him. But if her aim was true, then one simple swipe of the sword should do it.

She circled the struggling pair, until finally the monster's front was exposed. A quick stab of the sword and he went limp. Hedge dumped the body on the ground. For a moment, she observed the monster.

Its face was frighteningly identical to the son of Hades even in death, but as she watched its form began to flicker and fade.

She grinned at this momentary victory, but then Nico called out to her from behind and she hurried over.

oOo

The son of Hades was pale and shaking- probably from the cold. But it could be that he was going into shock as well.

"I'm so sorry," he stuttered, "so sorry."

She struggled to lean him against her, "Coach! Come and here help me."

Hedge abandoned the monster's body and came over to lend a hand. He gripped Nico's shirt, which was sopping with icy water and blood and dragged him to a half sitting position.

Nico murmured that he was sorry again. Reyna thought about asking him, but decided against it. Time was the essence now. They had to assess and treat his injury before anything else.

While an arm wound itself was rarely fatal, blood loss was definitely a leading cause of death. As a general rule the earlier a wound was cleaned and bound the lower the fatality rate.

The first challenge was actually getting to the wound. The Praetor found that when the shape shifter's tail had dug into the demigod's forearm, the metal vambrace he wore had been pushed into the wound, effectively hooking the piece of armour into his arm, therefore resulting in a painful, dangerous and messy injury.

That was what she had suspected, but even it made her feel ill looking at the tangled mess of Nico's arm. Fortunately, it was nothing some nectar and ambrosia couldn't fix.

Hedge fished around in a few bag and produced a flask of the godly drink.

Despite her experience and training in camp, treating wounds was something she'd never get used to. The squirming of the victim's body made her feel like a murderer, the metallic smell of blood was revolting and the idea that her failure could come at the cost of someone's life was too horrifying to bear.

Nico was no different.

While Hedge held down his upper body, Reyna unbuckled what was left of the clasps on the vambrace and gave it a testing jerk. It was just as bad as she suspected, or even worse, from the scream of pure agony Nico made.

An amateur would have immediately let go of the metal, but that would mean that the armour would be pulled back into place and disturbed for nothing, and they would have to pull it out again, result in the same outcome.

She examined the wound with a critical eye, she was able to lift the edges of the piece without difficulty, but the middle bit was crushed into his arm. The jerk she just performed was not just a brutal tug to get the armour was free, but also to access if any veins, arteries were severed.

The lack of a sudden spurt of blood meant no main vessels were damaged. _Luckily._

There was only one way to do this then. She gentling eased the young man's upper body off her lap.

"Nico? Hang on, ok?" Reyna took a deep breath to steel her nerves. "Just need to get the vambrace off. On three…"

She gave a nod to the satyr who tightened his grip on the demigod and returned her determined look. She placed a knee on his chest to keep him still.

Another deep breath.

"Okay, here we go… one…"

She tore the armour off. It was an old trick- it was always better when they weren't prepared.

Nico screamed and jerked wildly. His uninjured arm managed to strike Reyna before Hedge got it under control.

"You ok, girl?" Coach Hedge asked, still struggling with the Son of Hades.

Reyna barely heard him, transfix by the horror before her eyes.

"Reyna?" Hedge gave her a concerned look.

Nico had fallen silent- so overwhelmed by the pain and stress that he had passed out.

Reyna remained transfixed, "Coach, look at his arm."

There was no need to tell him, the satyr was already taking in the alarming sight.

They had expected the wound to be ugly, but it wasn't the blood and gore that scared them. No, it was the strange, bulging black veins that stood out starkly against deathly pale flesh.

Poison.

oOo

.

AN: I hope you liked it! Please comment to tell me what you think! I'd also love to hear some predictions, and may even implement some of them! Thanks beforehand for your comments/favs! ~H


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: ****First and foremost- Happy Mother's Day to all! I will post a one-shot in response to this wonderful day, please check it out! **

**Here is Chapter 8- Please fav and review if you liked it! Lacking some motivation to write more…. **

**.**

**.**

**Chapter 8**

Reyna woke to the sound of someone calling her name. She briefly wondered whether there would be a time on this quest that she would get some proper sleep. Then the events of yesterday rushed back and she forced her eyes open.

"Nico! How are you?"

"Not dead." Nico grinned weakly, "Isn't that great?"

She nodded numbly. _I wonder if he knows._

His grin evolved into a grimace, "It's poisoned, isn't it?"

Reyna hesitated, but then decided Nico was smart enough to figure that out, so there was no point hiding it anyway, "Yes."

He squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

"I'm dying."

Feared wormed into her mind, _was he just giving up? _And mostly importantly… _was he right?_

The pressing fear she'd felt when they had discovered that nectar did nothing to heal the wound was back. All the godly drink had done was to close up the wound, and slow the gradual movement of the deadly poison in his bloodstream. But the blackness was still there.

"No," she couldn't meet his eyes.

Nico's gaze softened and he sighed, "I'm a son of Hades. I know when it's my time."

The whole desperate situation and Nico's cool acceptance made Reyna's temper flare, "Does it make you happy then, to know that I agree?"

"It makes me happy that you're taking it so well."

She didn't know if that was meant to be a joke or not, so there was a long silence, so long that Reyna thought that her companion had fallen back into a restless sleep, until he moved to awkwardly unbutton his shirt. "Give me a hand please."

The praetor did as he asked, and helped him pull back the sweat soaked material. She didn't mean to stare at Nico's bare chest, but a key shaped scar on his abdomen caught her attention. It was almost as if someone had branded him or carved such a symbol into his skin. The young man drew her attention back to his arm with a wave and she was horrified to find the poison had spread to his upper arm overnight.

She gently touched the affected area, while Nico looked on with interest. The skin burned her freezing fingers. "Does it hurt?"

"I can't feel my arm anymore," he shook his head sadly.

"There must be something we can do…"

"Take me outside."

"What?"

Nico's gaze locked with hers, determination chasing away the fog of pain and sickness. "Take me outside; we'll make the final jump now. Trust me, Reyna- we'll make it."

She reeled back in shock, "You'll die!"

"Trust me, we'll make it," he desperately repeated.

"No, Nico…" she wanted to say argue more about the danger he was going to put himself in, but the words stuck in her throat, instead she said, "Who knows where we might end up with you in this state?"

The boy struggled to rise, "I'll be _dead_ in less than 2 days… 3 at most! You and Coach Hedge will be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a gigantic statue and no way to get it back!"

"It's a risk, but it's the only option." He pleaded.

Reyna hesitated. Even if by some miracle they made it to camp, Nico would die- she was sure of that.

A praetor always did things for the greater good, didn't they? In this case they could potentially save the two camps, at the cost of one demigod's life. Not even a well-liked one at that.

_You're not just a praetor, Reyna. _A voice that sounded suspiciously like Jason's spoke in her mind. _You're a person with emotions, not just duties._

So who am I now? A friend or a praetor?

Thoughts charged around in her mind like wild horses- some urging her to agree for the greater good, some telling her that her agreement would be something she was going to regret for the rest of her life.

"Reyna?" Nico grasped her wrist suddenly with the hand of his uninjured arm and the praetor met his gaze forlornly, knowing that the son of Hades was going to make an argument that she couldn't refuse.

"My life for the two camps- is it not worth it?"

She hesitated and a spark of victory gleamed in his eyes. "One life for several hundred, which would you chose?"

_He was right,_ she realised. One needed to make sacrifices to win a war. She opened her mouth to give the reply when a memory floated to the surface of her turbulent mind and stood out above all others.

oOo

_She was leaning against the railing of the Argo looking out to sea. About fifty metres to her left Nico struggled to pull a huge pile of ropes up to the deck from a staircase._

"_Reyna?"_

"_Yes, Percy?"_

_The Son of Poseidon looked surprisingly serious. "I've been looking for you, and now that I've found you… can I ask something of you?"_

_She gave him a levelled gaze, "Depends on what it is."_

"_I want you to protect Nico at all costs."_

"_That's the point of me going on this trip, is it not?" she replied sarcastically._

_To her surprise, Percy gripped her shoulders with both hands and swung her around to face him properly. He swallowed and seemed to make a decision._

"_Tartarus… does… strange things to people…" he trailed off nervously, "Nico's changed, and he's become restless, dangerous and so much more reckless. I- just keep an eye on him, ok?"_

_Reyna hesitated; it was always dangerous to make promises when you're a demigod. But, this was just a promise that she already planned to keep anyways, so what difference would it make ultimately?_

"_Fine. I give you my word that I will do my best to protect him," she promised._

_Percy removed his hands from her shoulders and suddenly looked sad, "The last promise of this sort I made almost drove him insane." _

_He sighed, "Us demigods owe him more than we could ever repay"_

_In the distance, Annabeth called for him and he turned his head in her direction, "Coming!"_

_The Son of the Earthshaker grinned at Reyna with a spark in his eyes, "Not to mention that I kill you if my cousin dies under your care."_

_The Daughter of Bellona was left standing awkwardly by the railing, wondering if the last statement was a joke. _

oOo

Upon returning to the present, she realised that Nico was still looking at her expectantly. She shook her head.

"No. Stay and rest. I will personally make sure you don't die."

"What? Reyna! You would let-"

She got up and left the tent before he finished his sentence.

oOo

The cold morning air was such a change from the stuff atmosphere of the tent that she didn't know whether to feel glad or not, knowing that the main contribution to the heat was a high temperature that Nico was running.

Hedge was sitting on a log nearby, trying to make a rainbow with a prism. She approached him and sat down nearby. "Hey."

The satyr grunted in response, "How's the boy?"

She didn't want to tell him about Nico's proposal for fear that he would agree. So she just tried her best to look worried, "He's running a fever."

Hedge raised an eyebrow, "I thought I heard talking?"

"Err… Yeah," she searched her brain for an explanation, "He was delirious and panicking, and I was trying to calm him down."

"Right."

The satyr seemed to have accepted the lie and went back to rainbow-making. Suddenly a bright flash of light caught her attention. The praetor whipped around and stopped in shock at the glowing outline of a woman standing behind her.

Hedge started at her sudden movement, "What's wrong?" He stared at her in surprise.

"Can't you see her?"

"Who? Where?"

Reyna panicked. What was this new monster that had come to test them?

The woman smiled gently and moved closer, her white robes hovering above the ground. "Peace, Praetor. I bear you no harm. I am a messenger of Minerva."

Reyna wasn't convinced, "Why can't he see you?"

The woman glanced at Hedge, who was now shouting loudly about cowardice and clubs. Her mouth twitched into a smile. "My lady was unsure of how the satyr would react and so bid me only appear to you."

"What do you want to tell us?"

The woman's halo of golden light made it hard to look at her. "There is hope for this quest as long as the son of Hades lives. The poison that races through his veins is deadly- but curable."

Reyna felt her heart pound.

"There is an herb that cures such toxins. But you must retrieve it before it's too late."

"What is this herb like?"

"You will know when you find it."

The daughter of Bellona lowered her sword, "Where can I find this herb?"

The woman smiled sadly, "It's not that easy, Praetor. Even my lady does not know where the herb is. Only those who have fallen to Death know where it grows."

"Then- "

With a delicate poof, the woman vanished. Reyna stopped Hedge in his futile attempts to hit invisible monsters and explained to him all that she had been told.

The satyr looked livid, "What are the gods playing at? Why would they bring up our hopes only to smash them down again?"

Reyna didn't know how to answer that. But surely there was a purpose to the woman's visit. It was normally forbidden for gods to interfere with the affairs of their children, so could it be that Minerva was trying to help indirectly by giving them a clue?

She prayed to every god she could think of, asking for their help. Finally, she got to Hades.

_Lord Hades, please help us. Your son's life is in danger. If you ever cared about him at all, please send help. _

The daughter of Bellona mentally decided that she was going to do whatever it would take to save Nico, not just because she owed him… or because Percy might murder her later…

But because the truth of the matter was; he didn't deserve to die.

oOo

**.**

**Keep going down to the review box! Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: ****Here is a chapter in honour of the revealing of the Blood of Olympus book cover! **

**This is another exciting one, containing the appearance of everyone's favourite god. **

**Please review and fav! Authors live on your comments!**

**Without further ado….**

**.**

**Chapter 9**

To keep her mind off the problems that they were facing now, Reyna tidied their packs and disposed of all the junk, and then she collected firewood until it was dark. She worked as if in a trance.

Hedge had long since given up on trying to make a rainbow and instead chose to keep an eye on Nico.

It concerned her how badly the boy was faring. He drifted between a fevered, restless sleep to murmuring deliriously when awake. There was nothing they could do now. She wondered if refusing his plan of action this morning had been wise.

A bright moon outshone thousands of tiny stars on the blackness above her that was the sky. At any other time, she would have said that it was peaceful. The fire in front of her crackled as a log split in the heat.

Reyna sighed, remember a long time ago, when she was an ordinary soldier and could laugh along with her peers, instead of coldly observing from a distance. When she had first been promoted to Praetor, she'd loved the utter reverence and fear others showed her- they'd rise and salute if she was 10 feet away from them. That was until she realised what a lonely life leaders led.

A shadow moved a few feet away from her.

A man appeared out of nowhere. She ran her sword through his before thinking. The weapon cut through his figure as if it wasn't there.

He was dressed in a semi-formal black suit, the kind that you saw at funerals, with hair combed back neatly. The stranger appeared to be unarmed, and not too built, but looked as if he could put on a decent burst of speed if needed.

"Hello, Praetor."

The man offered her a serious nod and she found herself looking at a face with features that were startlingly familiar.

"Yes," the figure said, as if it could guess her mind, "I am Hades."

The lord of the Dead sat down beside her in front of the fire, and she tried not the flinch. "I have heard your prayers, and have come to ask you to clarify what kind of help you need."

Reyna felt herself shiver at the coldness that seeped from the immortal. "Lord Hades…"

He turned ageless eyes upon her. "Yes?"

"Nico is dying. You know that, surely."

"Yes. I do."

"Can you help him then?"

"No."

She reeled back in shock, "Why?" She couldn't help sounding resentful, "He's your son- don't you care?"

The god turned to her, his face contorted with anger, "Why would you think that? Do you think that I know nothing about love because I am the epitome of death?"

He turned to the fire again, "There are truer displays of love on deathbeds than at weddings. There are more tears of regret at funerals than in halls of prayer." His voice was soft, almost comforting, "Death brings out the best in all of us, but at the highest price."

Hades twisted a silver ring on his hand- his wedding ring. "I cannot help you because you ask for the wrong type of help…" he trailed off and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

_Was he giving her some kind of clue, just as Minerva's messenger had? _The woman's words rang in her mind again- _only those who have fallen to Death know where it grows._

It was worth a shot, "Lord Hades, can you tell me where to find a herb that can cue Nico?"

The god smiled at her, "No…"

Her hopes fell.

"…but I'm sure some of my minions can tell you." He rose and dusted off himself off, "Even though we gods can't interfere with you mortals, it surely won't be my fault if one of them just happens to have run away and met you at the north edge of the woods tomorrow morning."

Reyna grinned.

Hades looked over her shoulder at the tent behind her with something akin to longing in his eyes.

"Would you like to see Nico?" She offered.

The god made to answer, but his form flickered. For a brief second, he was a menacing looking man in a black toga. "N-no. I must go now- this form weakens."

The god looked at her with something akin to warmth in his eyes, "Do not fear me because of what I represent. Death is just. But justice is often mistaken for cruelty." He raised a hand in farewell, "You understand, do you not, praetor of Rome?"

Reyna averted her eyes as the god disappeared in a pillar of flame. She was left with a warm flame of hope that flickered in her heart.

oOo

Nico could feel his heart giving out.

Dying was certainly a strange feeling.

Throughout his life as a son of Hades, he had seen lots of people die- friends, family, strangers, monsters and even a god.

In fact his frequent conversations with dead people made the concept of death seemed like an everyday thing.

As a belonging of the Underworld, he wasn't afraid of death, but he was definitely afraid of spending eternity remembering how he'd failed his friends.

_Curse Reyna and her compassion_, he thought bitterly. _We should have just risked it and made the last jump._

But in his hearts of hearts, he was grateful.

In New Rome's council, he had seen Reyna the Praetor in action, barking orders and always carefully calculating the best action to take. She was a good leader capable to working towards 'the bigger picture' no matter what was sacrificed in the process.

This was probably the first time that he had seen her take a detour from 'the bigger picture'.

_It's too late to go back now,_ he thought sadly.

It had been set in stone. He would die. Reyna and Coach Hedge would die. The demigods of the two camps would die. The Seven would die. The Gods would die.

All because of him. _Damn._

Cool fingers brush sweat-matted hair away from his forehead. Opening his eyes tooks a ridiculously long time.

A girl's voice said something that he couldn't make out. The sound was both welcoming and annoying.

While the sudden loud noise bounced around and made his head hurt even more, it was reassuring to know that his senses still sort of worked. She turned around to pick up something, but he didn't have the energy to turn his head anymore.

_Is it morning already? How much time do I have left?_

Everything was blurry, but he guessed the figure above him was Reyna. The lack of colours made him wonder if it was still night or if his sight was failing. He hoped it was the former.

Finally, the girl came back and gently eased the covers off him. The cold air feels nice as it brushes against his burning skin, but he knows that he'll pay for it with stiff muscles if he survives long enough.

He hears a horrified gasp, but is too dizzy to care.

At first, his arm hurt like hell, but now it was just a dull throb that made his body numb as long as no one touched the wound.

When he had first been injured, he'd look down his nose once in a while to see how far the poison had spread. The results were never pretty. Now, he could tell how far the wrenched black liquid travelled by just the familiar feeling of burning as the poison fought the nectar that Hedge fed him earlier.

His entire right chest felt as it was on fire and he could no longer even twitch the fingers of his injured arm. Actually he wasn't too sure if it was before he couldn't or before the receptor in the arm were dead.

Either way, the poison was slowly concentrating on moving towards his heart.

A cloth wiped the injured arm and affected skin gently, but the sudden intense pain made him want to scream. He could only manage a groan. The rubbing stopped abruptly.

His head was lifted and a rounded metal edge pressed against his lips.

Nectar.

He gulped it down. It tasted like Coke. The drink that Bianca would get her friends to smuggle into their school once in a while. They'd hide somewhere, away from the prying eyes of teachers and drink the bottles. It had been their little victory against a world that cared nothing for them.

Right now, he didn't even know it the nectar did anything for the poison, but it was worth a shot anyways.

An image of army reinforcement parachutes with golden droplets of nectar in commando uniforms dropping out into a battlefield of black uniformed drops of poison in his veins made him want to laugh.

_I'm really losing it._ He chuckled mentally.

Nico wanted to thank Reyna, to greet her- to do anything but lie there like an invalid.

Oh wait, he was an _invalid_.

The Praetor talked a bit more, and eventually his ears got used enough to be able to make out what she was saying. "I'll be back soon, hang on for a few more days, ok?"

_Back? Where was she going?_

"This will save your life. I'll be back before you know it, just- stay alive, will you?"

_What happened while he was out?_

"Nico?" The girl sighed and eased him back under the covers, "I don't know if you can hear me, or understand what I'm saying, but I hope you can."

Nico didn't have the strength to reply anymore and Reyna, perhaps realising her mistake, gently laid a hand over his uninjured one and gave a gentle squeeze.

His vision blurred suddenly and it was no longer possible to keep his eyes open.

As they closed, something wet landed on his cheek and his barely conscious mind made a note to say sorry to Reyna if he ever got the chance to.

oOo

The Praetor exited the tent after recollecting herself.

The wound was worse. Now the poison had spread to reach his chest. The breaths that the son of Hades took were more like gasps. He didn't have long.

There was something heartbreaking about the blameless way that Nico had looked at her. For those few moments, she could see what Hazel saw and loved in the young man; his fearless ambition and… boundless loyalty to his cause.

That was admirable. She didn't doubt that Gaea had tried to recruit him before, but the Son of Hades had refused. He had no reason to fight for the gods, but he did so, again and again, even when he had everything to lose.

At the moment in time, she vowed silently that she would do anything to save his life, no matter the cost.

Hedge was huddled by the fire, and looked up as she approached, "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes."

The satyr looked impassive, and refused to look her in the eye. "Perhaps, it's better if I go instead?"

She understood where the request had come from- he didn't want to stay behind and feel useless. "No, Coach," she told him gently, "Stay here, look after Nico; I'll be back before you know it."

"What if-"

The sentence was too painful to say out loud.

"I will."

The satyr pulled her into a tight hug and she nearly fell over in surprise. Finally, he let go and wiped his face with the back of his hand, "Get going," he scowled at the ground, "It's starting to rain."

He wiped his face again.

The Praetor got over her surprise gave him a sober nod. She headed over to the north tree line, taking one last look at the clear, cloudless sky before it was swallowed by the foreboding shadow of trees.

oOo

Reyna pushed aside the last bush to see the faint pink tingle of the sky the next morning.

Her entire body ached from blundering around in the forest all night, and if it wasn't for her armour, her whole body would probably be covered in scratches.

The ground looked too inviting to resist and so she sat down to catch her breathe. _What do I do now?_

The answer didn't take long in coming. A shadow glided over her and she leapt to her feet. _Please let it not be a monster._

Horrible images of dragons and flying monsters filled her with dread. It was ridiculous if she got killed before she even began her miniquest for the herb. The thought of Hedge and Nico dying because she stupidly got killed off by a dragon made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Something landed in front of her with a cloud of dust and a clatter of bones.

When the mess cleared, Reyna couldn't help but gasp in surprise. In front of her, in bleached white bones and vague coloured outlines was Scipio.

**.**

**.**

**Review?**


	11. AN: 2 Week Update Suspension for Exams

**Dear readers!**

**Unfortunately, due to exams, updating will be suspended for the next two weeks. I will however, make up for it by posting three chapters after the exams are finished! Look for an update on the 8****th**** of June!**

**Apologies for any inconvenience! **

**~H**


End file.
